Engine starter drive



May 17, 1938. M, WHITNEY 2,117,999

ENGINE STARTER DRIVE Filed Jan. 27, 1937 rwwllllpw m I INVENTOR.Add/was: I 4 W v m.

Patented May 17, 1938 f I UNITED STATES ENGINE STARTER DRIVE Maurice P.Whitney, Elmira, N. Y., assignor to Eclipse Machine Company, Elmira, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application January 27, 1937, Serial No.122,580

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to engine starter drives and moreparticularly to an improved fastening arrangement for retaining theparts of the drive in assembled relation.

Engine starter drives as articles of commerce are usually in the form ofa unit adapted to be mounted on the extended armature shaft of astarting motor, and incorporate means for so locating the drive thereonthat when the starting motor is mounted in its intended position, thedrive pinion will be in proper position to engage and cooperate with agear on a member such as the flywheel of the engine to be started. Thusin the form of starter drive disclosed in the patent to Sekella2,062,480, the elements of the drive are assembled on a sleeve which islocated on a motor shaft by means of a pin and key.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel starterdrive assembly which forms a unitary article of commerce especiallyadapted for easy and rapid mounting and attachment to a motor shaft.

It is another object to provide such a device including novel means forlocating and retaining the drive on the motor shaft.

It is a further object to provide such a device embodying specialprovisions for preventing the locating and retaining means from becomingdislodged by handling or vibration of the drive in shipment anddistribution.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a starter driveembodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view from the left in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the parts as they areassembled in the drive for 40 shipment.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 a barrel typedrive of the type disclosed in the patent to Sekella cited including asleeve I on which is slidably J'ournalled a screw shaft 2 having a nut 3threaded thereon. The nut 3 is rigidly connected by means of a barrel 4to a pinion 5 which is adapted to slide freely on the extended armatureshaft 6 of a starting motor and to be moved by said nut and barrel intoand out of engagement with a member, not illustrated, of an engine to bestarted.

The sleeve and screw shaft are yieldably connected by means of torsionand compression drive spring I anchored at one end to the screw 55 shaft2 by means of an anchor member 8 nonrotatably connected to an enlargedportion 9 of the screw shaft and seating against a shoulder I I thereon.The other end of the spring" is anchored to the sleeve I by means of asimilar anchor member I2 n'on-rotatably mounted on an enlarged portionI0 of the sleeve and adapted to bear against a split thrust ring l3seated in a groove I4 in the sleeve.

Locating and retaining means for the sleeve on the motor shaft 6 isprovided in the form of a pin I5 slidably mounted in a radial apertureI6 (Fig. 3) in the sleeve and adapted to extend inwardly into an openingin the shaft as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, being retained insuch position by the anchoring member I2 when the drive is mounted onthe motor shaft. A key I! (Fig. 2) of standard construction ispreferably provided for nonrotatably connecting the sleeve to the motorshaft when mounted thereon.

When the drive is assembled for shipment, the pin I5 is held inwithdrawn position and the parts so retained thereby as to facilitatemounting on the motor shaft. As here illustrated, this is accomplishedby making the opening I6 in the sleeve slightly larger than the pin I5and by forming a shallow circumferential recess or groove I8 adjacentthe outer end of the pin. When the parts are assembled, the spring I iscompressed sufficiently to permit the anchor member I2 to clear theopening I6 in the sleeve, whereupon the pin I5 is inserted in saidopening and the spring I permitted to expand. The expansion of thespring forces the anchor member I2 against the pin I5, causing it totilt slightly and bind in the opening I6 whereby it is held firmlyagainst displacement due to handling or vibration during shipment anddistribution.

The anchor members 8 and I2 are formed commercially as stampings, andwhen so formed, there is a sharp edge or corner I9 left around itscentral opening. The recess or groove I8 in the pin I5 is formed toaccommodate the edge I9 on anchor member I2 (Fig. 3), forming therewithan interlocking connection which further insures against undesireddislodgment of the pin I5.

When the drive is to be mounted on a motor shaft, it is merely necessaryto place a key I! in the shaft and then slide the drive on the shaftuntil the pin I 5 registers with the opening in the shaft. The pin I5 isthen forced into said opening, whereupon the spring I expands and movesthe anchor member into the position illustrated in Fig. 1 where theparts are all locked in position.

Although but one embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail, it will be understood that other embodiments arepossible and various changes may be made in the arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is: a

1. In a starter drive, a sleeve adapted to be mounted on a motor shaft,a screw shaft slidably journalled on the sleeve, means transmittingrotation from the sleeve to the screw shaft including a torsion andcompression spring and an anchor member therefor slidably butnon-rotatably mounted on the sleeve, and means including a pin looselymounted in the sleeve and adapted to serve as an abutment for saidanchor member to limit the expansion of the spring, said pin and anchormember having interengaging portions serving to resist displacement ofthe pin.

2. In an engine starter drive, a sleeve, a hollow shaft slidablyjournalled thereon, a stop member on the sleeve limiting slidingmovement of the shaft in one direction, a drive spring, means anchoringone end of the spring to the shaft, slidable means non-rotatablyconnecting the other end of the spring to the sleeve, and a pin looselymounted in the sleeve adapted to engage said slidable means to hold thespring under compression, the expansive force of the spring serving tobind the pin in the sleeve and resist dislodgment thereof.

3. In an engine starter drive, a sleeve, a hollow shaft slidablyjournalled thereon, a stop member on the sleeve limiting slidingmovement of the shaft in one direction, a drive spring, means anchoringone end of the spring to the shaft, slidable means non-rotatablyconnecting the other end of the spring to the sleeve, and a pin looselymounted in the sleeve adapted to engage said slidable means to hold thespring under compression, said pin having a recess and said slidablemeans having a portion adapted to engage in said recess under theexpansive force of the spring and resist dislodgment of the pin.

MAURICE P. WHITNEY.

